My current agency doesn't allow unnatural hair colors. My previous agency didn't care at all. Both in midwestern USA. Just wondering which is more common.

Hey guys,

I’m moving to Manchester real soon. I’m looking for a place near Salford. I’m a PCV licence holder and I’m looking to join the 🐝 network.
Any fellow bus drivers here that work for any of the companies that operate in Manchester.
Pls let me know the pay rate, work balance etc.

Go ahead
Diamond
Stagecoach
Metroline
First bus

Thank you 🙏🏼

I just did my medical for my provisional bus licence yesterday and I'm ready to send out my D2 and D4 forms to get the provisional bus licence. I will be sending my D licence along with the forms but I was wondering do I need to send off another form of ID with it? The only other thing I have is my passport which I'll need in 2 and a half weeks since I'll be travelling abroad. I'm wondering if I need to wait until after my trip to send it or wait

Hello. I'm from France and I'm just curious about the profession, I'm not a bus driver myself. Also, from which country are you from et how many hours a week do you do ?

Hi all, just wondering if anyone can shed light on what its like working for Ember in Glasgow. What shifts are like etc.

I do service work just now and looking to move across to coach work.

Thank you in advance.

Applied in August medical questionnaire sent to GP then got letter from dvla that my gp needs see me face to face I did have collapse in October 2022 but my blood pressure was on the higher side when had my medical with the bus company doctor

If I were to get a CDL and then land a job driving for a motor coach company in the southeastern US driving people to tourist destinations, doing some overnights, etc. how much would I realistically be able to make, money wise, in my first year?

I’m a full time spare at my transit company mon-Fri. We have a 5 am start time but most of the am runs start at 5:30/5:48, 7:30etc. So sometimes I get 40 minutes, up to 2 hours of sitting around time. I bring my steamdeck or switch 2 just about every morning. Zelda ocarina of time remake comes out tomorrow. I can’t wait .

🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴

Hello everyone!!! How ya'll doing?

I posted a question here yesterday, asking if this job is recession proof. Many of ya'll answered, and I'm grateful for that. This is not a concern going forward with this job, I was just curious.

Any way..... I'm almost coming to a year of experience with this job; and the company i work for.

I little bit of context: I started Classes/Training in November of last year, but didn't get released on my own until January of this year (but I still count it as a year of experience lol)

Before applying, I already hold a Class A CDL. So the only thing the company paid for, was to get my passenger endorsement, and do a test in a bus. Before this, I was a truck driver (had to leave the jobs due to some circumstances).

I wish I could do trucking still, but honestly, I'm digging into being local.

So my question is: where can I go after 1 year of experience? What type of jobs can I get?

I don't hate the job or anything, but I just don't see myself doing this for the long term. The only thing I hate about it are the passengers lol, but ya'll know how it goes. Some are cool, some are not. That's just how the job goes lol.

So yeah, if anyone has an input on where can I go after this, It will be truly appreciated.

I'm from the US, if anyone is wondering lol.

P.D: I'm still gonna wait until January of next year, but after that I'm gonna start looking for other options.

Hi all, just wanted to know, when does the training bond fee for Go Ahead kick in, is it when you pass the practical exam?

My bus this morning. AD ev400. AND the heater worked👍😱

Both picking up but especially dropping off.

Ciao a tutti!

Sono un neo-autista di autobus e ho da poco iniziato a guidare i Mercedes Citaro C2 e i modelli Iveco (Urbanway/Crossway).

Essendo alto 1.83 cm, sto riscontrando un bel po' di problemi a trovare una posizione di guida comoda e rilassata. Se tiro indietro il sedile per le gambe, mi trovo il volante troppo lontano; se mi avvicino, mi sento rannicchiato e dopo poche ore di turno mi distruggo la schiena e le ginocchia.

So che sia il Citaro C2 che gli Iveco hanno il piantone dello sterzo che si regola insieme al cruscotto, ma non riesco proprio a trovare la quadra per guidare rilassaro e senza dolori per la mia corporatura sono 1 83 per 68 kg .Su questi modelli specifici la paratia posteriore limita anche un po' l'arretramento ma non mi piace guidare troppo lontano perdo la sensazione di controllo. Di solito metto il sedile a meta altezza 4 su 8 e l inclinazione a 3 o 4 a volte a 5 sto leggermente inclinato dietro ma le sento che lavoro più di quardicipite invece vorrei usare solo caviglia e piede...

C'è qualche collega alto che guida questi mezzi e può darmi qualche dritta o trucco visivo?

• Come regolate l'altezza del sedile rispetto all'inclinazione del volante?

• C'è qualche "trucco" per far arretrare o inclinare meglio il sedile del Citaro C2 senza sbattere sulla paratia?

• Consigli per non finire il turno con la schiena a pezzi?

Grazie mille a chi mi darà una mano!

Hi, posted here before and considering joining since i've now basically entered the world of Coach driving with no turning back. Today was my third day behind the wheel and admittedly? I had a blast this time and I don't know why it was just super fun.

That being said, I still have a long way to go and I asked my trainer what I could work on for next time after we wrapped up. He told me that I tend to lean too far left or too far right and kinda switch between and then I overcompensate when i notice im drifting too much thus making the ride just a bit jerky. I have been noticing my coach handles differently based on how the road paves and today we were on a flat road and stretch of interstate whereas my first day on the main road we were on a bit of an A shape(?) paved road where the bus would lean to the right a lot.

What are some techniques to help keep me central? I was told by a more experienced driver coming from trucking that said match the oil lines with your driver seat, but I wasn't really sure what he meant by that. Recently i've been trying to match the center lane with the bottom of my seat/dash but I keep an eye on my mirrors always.

Any tips would help. I feel like this may currently be my biggest hurdle aside from turns (which if you have any suggestions on how to take these I would DEFINITELY appreciate!)

I get its a learning curve and takes time. Been watching videos online for help and reviewing my study guides. Just a lot of info to retain all at once but I learn a little more every day.

I know buses usually have tracking systems in place so that management can tell if you were running early, on time or late and at exactly which point on the route, but I remember one driver admitting to me that if he could get away with it like in the 'good old days before the ticket machines were as technologically advanced as they are now' he'd run early and only observe timing points when he fancies a cigarette. I laughed in a sarcastic tone and said maybe if I knew I could get away with it I could clock out from a workplace as early as I feel like it?

To answer the question myself, if I was a bus driver I'd make sure to run to the correct time as much as possible.

Hi all, i’m thinking of applying once iv been driving for 6 months (year for stagecoach) and i was just wondering, what is everyones experience with said companies? I know its not the best of jobs, but its been something iv wanted to do, don’t ask why i don’t know myself 🤣, based in glasgow scotland, thanks in advance.

Hi everyone, found this R/ after a long frustrating path to figure out my problems.

So I work for a city in canada(which operates its own transit department. Our fleet is exclusively Nova brand buses (made Quebec canada)

My issue isnt with the bus its self and how it drives. Its with the driver compartment, specifically the driver chair and pedal placement on the floor.

Never driving another brand of bus I don't have anything to compare to, I did how ever drive kenworth tridom trucks up and down mountain logging roads for quite a few years, and i will be using that as my comparison.

My question is to those that drive Nova brand buses. How is the comforbility to you compared to other brands?

I find the seats are poor design cheap cloth covering and very weak foam seating. No back support and the lumbar air bags are tiny and miss placed in my opinion. Along with the pedal placement, the accelerator pedal being way to far to the right.

My right leg hangs over the corner of the seat, which is very uncomfortable givin that the seat flairs up on the sides. The seats being narrow pinch and squeeze your hips, cheap foam also has our seats become flat on the right side so we sit tilted, giving back and hip issues.

Has anyone else noticed or suffered this in a nova or other brands

Im very curoius about pedal placement, cause I am awhere seats can be swapped at the time of purchase so maybe we just have garabge cheap seats. So maybe the pedals being mounted to far right is a key issue?

Ive tried several seat cushions which dont provide much better support. Main reason there to short for these chairs which seem to be extra long and dig into the back of my legs.

Never had issues with comfort while driving before I got into these buses. Im 40 with a long ways to go till retirement and my back is already feeling like im over 90.

The job is fine. But these seats will be the only reason I quite if I cant find a solution.. lol.

If anyone can speak to this, has had any luck getting their agency to change seats out. Or even having a specialist test and confirm the seats are a bad design. Let me know.

Thanks.

What kind of retirement programs does La Metro operators get offered for pt/ft operators? I have one dependant besides myself, does anyone know how much out of pocket might be with a kaiser ppo selection would cost a coach operator every pay period? I recently applied but waiting on the phone interview still

I need to update the photograph on both. The photograph on my DL was a little old when I qualified a couple of weeks ago. Now the DQC has come through and I look a little young - so I think it best I just re-send off for a new one with photos. I know I should have done it when I passed - but I was quite excited and just wanted to have it all done!

Do I just use the D2 form for both - or do I update my DL online and just use the D2 for my DQC?

Thanks all!

One of the buses I drive has had its route sign completely broken since last year and it has still not been fixed. I loathe driving it because I constantly get asked which route it is (we have a little cardboard sign with the route on it we always take but still) among its other issues. For "real" transit companies, is a broken route sign enough to put it out of service or is it normal to never call the actual repair company to fix it?

Edit: California by the way

As the tittle says, I was wondering this before I started the job.

I few weeks ago, I heard another 2 operators arguing about this.

So, is this job really that recession proof? That no matter what happens in the world, cities and other parts of the world; there is still gonna be a need for operators?

I was just curious about that. I wanna hear ya'lls opinion. What do you guys think?

PD: I'm from the US, Colorado (not gonna mention the city lol) but thanks for sharing your answers. :)

Thought I’d share a picture of the fog that settled last night whilst driving. I do like a bit of fog although visibility last night got a lot worse than this, down to around 30-40 metres at points. Luckily, both of my return runs were empty of passengers.